OT: NJ Devils 2023-2024 Thread
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I'm no Lindy Ruff fan and think it's bad hire for multiple reasons.
But if you look beyond this past year - a year where NJ had a lot of problems beyond coaching and were below 500 after he was fired - he did a good job in his tenure with NJ. He helped Hughes take a major step FWD, gave the team a magical season after years of crap, and raised expectations of the franchise.
Coaches don't often have a long shelf life, and fact is NJ is better now than they were during last coaching search.
Ruff knows offense, and I predicted he would be good for the Devils young offensive players when he was hired. He is horrible at defense, and it is a really bad choice for a team with Power, Dahlin and Byram.
Look at Brady Skjel’s career arc for an example of what Ruff can do to a young defensive player.
2 MCL sprains, an oblique and a shoulder injury. And he still netted 28 goals when unshackled. He'll be a force for NJ next year.
Devils to have less cap space due to overagers and the last season of the 250K penalty for resigning our then player Kovalpuke. Gee I'm sure Bettmann and company are looking at everyway they can penalize Vegas one day for subverting the cap 3 years in a row with the same player Mark Stone.
LOL I'm joking, not all franchises are equal in Gary's Animal Farm. I know if the NJD had owners who wanted to win, and used Hamilton's LTIR money to boost the roster and make the playoffs, the NHL would have closed the loophole immediately!
LOL I'm joking, not all franchises are equal in Gary's Animal Farm. I know if the NJD had owners who wanted to win, and used Hamilton's LTIR money to boost the roster and make the playoffs, the NHL would have closed the loophole immediately!
The problem is that the only people who want to see that LTIR rule fixed is the media and fans.
Teams want to keep it as is in case they ever need to use it, and the players aren’t going to fight against something that has a team spending more on players than they normally would.
True, but it's a ridiculous farce. Looking at what other teams did before and around the time of the Kovy signing, there is not a clearer example of how the league plays favorites. After Tampa and Vegas this travesty is being codified as being how you win a Cup.
Bahl and Mercer both took big steps back last year.
Hopefully this accelerates Nemec and Luke growth.
Not really a secret that the devils were one of the non-toughest teams in the league.
Bringing in arguably the least toughest, one of the most player friendly coaches in the league (his message to the Leafs before G7 a few weeks ago was: go have fun!)…what??
Ehhh…would have liked a more tougher coach..we’ll see.
Bringing in arguably the least toughest, one of the most player friendly coaches in the league (his message to the Leafs before G7 a few weeks ago was: go have fun!)…what??
Ehhh…would have liked a more tougher coach..we’ll see.
Better than Woodcroft, so maybe Keefe has learned by watching these playoffs hopefully.
Going to Newark and not Toronto's pressure cooker should give him new life. This underwhelming hire cements how these owners are all about analytics. Hopefully Fitz will toughen this roster with grit and size.
Going to Newark and not Toronto's pressure cooker should give him new life. This underwhelming hire cements how these owners are all about analytics. Hopefully Fitz will toughen this roster with grit and size.
Bahl played some very tough minutes, I think that was more at play then him taking a step back.
But I'll agree Mercer could use a bounce back season.
Concerned we hired a “player’s coach”. Not sure the Devils have the personnel to self impose hard work and responsibility let alone any sort of innate toughness. Some of them seem kind of entitled and could use a bit of a tougher coach. Nico is soft and he’s the captain. Usually those guys are gritty like Brady Tkachuk, Barkov or Jamie Benn.
I don't see Nico as a soft player. I definitely think he is a hard worker and a responsible player.
Is he as physical or as vocal as Brady Tkachuk? Maybe not but Brady's on a crappy team himself. Barkov and Benn, thus far have zero Cups.
I'd put Nico right in the same category as guys like Bergeron, Crosby and Stamkos though in those regards, and those guys have 6 cups between them.
Calling Nico soft should have you banned from being a fan
I like Nico but he is nowhere near Stamkos, Bergeron or Crosby. Those guys are actually very gritty and much tougher than Nico. Barkov is the best 200’ player in the world. Nico also does not command the locker room- he allowed Jack’s attitude to permeate things and guys like Mercer and Marino needed to get their bell rung last year by a leader that demanded better effort off and on the ice. Scott Stevens would not have tolerated the lazy soft play of this team.
Ok. Timid? Meek? Uninspiring? He is not an NHL caliber captain. At least not yet; I hope he turns into one.
Super bizzare play....Rangers just scored on themselves.
No way.
As far as best 200' players in the world, Nico is on that list too, higher up then the likes of Crosby and Stamkos.
Now does Nico command the locker room? Maybe not. Does Jack's attitude permeate the locker room? Yeah I think it does, and I think that's what makes Nico's captaincy tougher then so many other players around the league. Jack, moreso then Nico, has the superstar talent, and the superstar mindset, and unfortunately was very clearly frustrated with his injury and the teams struggles. And he's only a couple years younger then Nico who himself just turned 25 this season. AND Jack's very talented younger brother is also now on the team and he himself is pretty loud with his frustrations. It's a tough gig for Nico.
Is this excuse making? I don't think so, I think Nico is a fine captain, and sometimes good captains reign over bad teams. It's not like your boy Benn has never missed the playoffs in his career, or your Brady hasn't missed the playoffs every year in his career.
I like the Keefe hire. He gets crap for not "winning" in Toronto, but several HOF coaches came and went without a Cup there prior to him. Toronto's roster construction was/is awful with their 5 whiny stars taking up 66% of their cap. Despite not yet winning the ultimate NHL prize, he has won at every level and he's only 43 years old.
NHL: 212-97-40 (3rd most wins through a coach's first 4 years in NHL history)
AHL: 200-89-22 (Won Toronto Marlies' first Calder Cup)
OHL: 134-55-5
CCHL: 303-96-4 (Won 5 consecutive championships)
I get the merit to wanting a hardass like Berube, but the end of his time in St. Louis was ugly. There were rumblings of that starting the year after their Cup. I can't wait to see how Toronto's crybaby team responds to a taskmaster. Keefe being a player's coach doesn't necessarily mean he won't hold his guys accountable. I imagine Toronto's makeup played into why he had to coddle them. He'll also put a staff together that can take on some of that responsibility. That said, I would like to see more of that from the players themselves.
NHL: 212-97-40 (3rd most wins through a coach's first 4 years in NHL history)
AHL: 200-89-22 (Won Toronto Marlies' first Calder Cup)
OHL: 134-55-5
CCHL: 303-96-4 (Won 5 consecutive championships)
I get the merit to wanting a hardass like Berube, but the end of his time in St. Louis was ugly. There were rumblings of that starting the year after their Cup. I can't wait to see how Toronto's crybaby team responds to a taskmaster. Keefe being a player's coach doesn't necessarily mean he won't hold his guys accountable. I imagine Toronto's makeup played into why he had to coddle them. He'll also put a staff together that can take on some of that responsibility. That said, I would like to see more of that from the players themselves.
Ya, I didn't want Berube, I do think we need a stricter hand, but this team should not go old school hardass mode. Strength of this team is still talent and speed. Need to build around that.
Am I little concerned that he "coddled" his stars in Toronto and keeping stars in check here in NJ will be an important part of his job here? I dunno, maybe a little, but I think the most important thing is Jack getting his shoulders right, moreso then his head right.
Fitzgerald now gets to fix the goaltending, defense, toughness, and grit. If he does well Keefe will succeed and both will be Devils for a long time. If he doesn't fix our issues both will be gone within 3 years. There is a lot riding on this off-season.
It is not that Nico is bad, he is a very good 2-way player. The problem is, as of right now the Devils are team soft. We have too much small, weak, skilled figure skaters. Fitzgerald should look to sign or trade for players like Bertuzzi, Zadorov, Gudas, Bennett, and/or Martinook. Not to mention call Staios and see what it would take to bring Brady and Family to New Jersey. Gretzky got traded, anyone can be traded. Now Gretzky's wife Janet Jones was an actress that wanted to be closer to Hollywood. Well Brady's wife is a Jersey girl about to have her first child. It doesn't hurt to ask. I see the similarities.
Second jobs are usually done better. That said you usually try to hire a different type coach than who you fired. Ruff ran a country club atmosphere, and this team rarely played hard a whole game.
It is not that Nico is bad, he is a very good 2-way player. The problem is, as of right now the Devils are team soft. We have too much small, weak, skilled figure skaters. Fitzgerald should look to sign or trade for players like Bertuzzi, Zadorov, Gudas, Bennett, and/or Martinook. Not to mention call Staios and see what it would take to bring Brady and Family to New Jersey. Gretzky got traded, anyone can be traded. Now Gretzky's wife Janet Jones was an actress that wanted to be closer to Hollywood. Well Brady's wife is a Jersey girl about to have her first child. It doesn't hurt to ask. I see the similarities.
Second jobs are usually done better. That said you usually try to hire a different type coach than who you fired. Ruff ran a country club atmosphere, and this team rarely played hard a whole game.
Exactly, not to mention Fitz is his cousin and he considers Jack and Luke Hughes family. Not sure where but his wife is from the Jersey Shore.
Her family is from Red Bank...but she grew up in Mendham/Chatham area.
Certainly hopeful Keefe can bring more out of guys than Ruff did, and while I absolutely wanted Berube, I am ok with the Sheldon Keefe hire way more than a Woodcroft hire. Main reason I wanted Berube was to get guys like Mercer, Marino and Siegenthaler respecting how the game is played and not "cheating" the effort required to win. Dawson Mercer's effort was shameful this past season and he lost about 90% of his board battles and man on matchups. He is a guy that needs to be challenged in a big way this off season. Jack gets away with it much of the time due to his pure talent, but he even got too careless by the end of the year and his neutral ice play was abysmal. Luke needs to mature physically so he needs to be pushed to get in the weight room more than anything. Nemec will be a stud and could be better than Luke over his career in my opinion. Nico does not have the gravitas to hold guys accountable and therefore you need a coach with the heavy hand to do that. Otherwise I agree, he's a very good 200' player and I'll concede one of the better ones in the league, but still needs to mature mentally and physically. Go Panthers!
Anyone see anything about filling out rest of coaching staff? Are We moving on from Brylin , McGill, Taylor and Rogalski .
Yes he does. There were questions about how much control Lindy Ruff had after Fitzgerald spoke about Greene when the change was made. This ownership group puts too much on analytics. I think Brylin stays but the others leave.
There is something to it.
But eye test and what actually happens on 200ft of ice matters too.
Exactly. Use it, but don't FORGET numbers can be deceiving! Just keeping it to the Devils, there were plenty of players that would not have had great analytics, who were key to Cups. I start with '95 the great Crash Line.
These numbers put too little stock on grit and physicality. Just look at the old time hockey being played in most of these series. You need numbers and instincts!
Oilers special teams PK 94% and PP 37% . Absurd stat line so far
Jeremy Colliton joining the #NJDevils as an assistant!
No other changes are coming to the coaching staff.
The 2024-25 #NJDevils staff will be HC Sheldon Keefe with assistants Colliton, McGill, Sarge, Taylor and goaltending coach Dave Rogalski.
No other changes are coming to the coaching staff.
The 2024-25 #NJDevils staff will be HC Sheldon Keefe with assistants Colliton, McGill, Sarge, Taylor and goaltending coach Dave Rogalski.
I’m not as dialed in as most of you but shouldn’t they have hired a new goaltending coach?
-vic
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